Wandre Soloist Semi-Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1964)
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Item #13996
Wandre Soloist Model Semi-Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1964), made in Cavriago, Italy, hot pink over black finish, plastic body, plastic sheathed aluminum neck with rosewood fingerboard, black tolex hard shell case.
In the wake of some wildly eccentric designs like the extreme cutaway Rock Oval by 1963-4 Italian guitar artist Wandre Pioli was convinced to put a few more broadly marketable instruments into production, largely at the suggestion of his distributors. This Soloist model was mostly designed to please American distributor Don Noble and is one of the better known of these, largely due to decades of use by Nashville Ace Buddy Miller. Like Miller's famous Noble-Wandres, this Soloist is equipped with the trapezoidal chrome Davoli pickups most associated with the brand; some variants featured smaller-coil more Fender-like units Wandre introduced towards the mid-1960's.
This more overtly "conventional" Wandre model was produced mostly around 1964. This example features a stunning hot pink top on the fully hollow plastic-over-wood body and easily stands out in a crowd! The "Les Paul-esque" shape body resembles a number of smaller semi-acoustics like the 1950s Premier Bantams or Guild Aristocrat. The body itself is thin laminate wood sheathed in black on the back with the almost salmon-y hot pink covering on the single-bound top, making for an almost John Waters-worthy spin on the Gretsch Jet Fire Bird look. While many Soloists sold in the US market carry a "Noble" plastic emblem glued to the front of the headstock this one has no branding at all save the Davoli-branded pickup covers and the small Wandre logo etched into the metal nut assembly.
The twin chrome Davoli pickups are mounted solidly in a molded black plastic pickguard assembly floating above the body. The controls are housed in a separate modular molded black plastic sub-assembly sunk into the lower body and consist of a master tone and volume knobs with three white push buttons to engage the pickups singly or together. The output jack is a regular 1/4" phone plug style for the non-Italian market, housed in a molded box at the back of the electronics assembly with the knobs mounted above.
Most of the other parts are standard Wandre fittings for guitars well into the company's tenure. The open slotted metal-framed wood headstock is bolted to the neck with staggered side-mounted pearloid button tuners under small sheathed coverplates. This Soloist has the earlier Hofner-style rosewood bridge slotted for small individual fretwire saddles. It is adjustable from beneath the pickguard for height although this is a fidgety task on this guitar! This is a non- vibrato Wandre with the tailpiece assembly solidly attached to the back end of the central aluminum neck/body section under a black plastic cover.
Besides the unique aesthetics, the most trailblazing aspect of Wandre guitars is the bolt-on aluminum neck. Over a decade before the likes of Travis Bean or Veleno, Pioli's instruments featured a thin, rounded aluminum neck/body centerpiece attached so the angle is adjustable to the body. The rosewood fingerboard has simple large-dot inlays and a zero fret. This example has the fitted black plastic neck sheath which many Wandre players feel contributes greatly to a more traditionally playable feel than the raw aluminum below. Overall this is another rare, wonderful and iconic piece of the Wandre puzzle, if more conventional than many in shape then announcing itself as unique with a stunning burst of color!
Overall length is 44 1/4 in. (112.4 cm.), 16 in. (40.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
This fabulously pink Soloist remains in very nice original condition overall with some faint signs of age and use, mostly scratches and scuffs on the back and sporadically over the entire instrument. It is remarkably well intact down to many of the often lost or broken little plastic pieces Wandres are known for: the neck sheath, the screw cover at the neck joint, the pickguard/pickup and control assemblies. It shows a touch of wear along the edges but nothing severe.
The electronics appear all original including the knobs, switches, and seemingly even the 1/4" jack as this one was originally built for export. The Davoli pickup covers show some pick scratching to the tops, there is some scuffing to the top surface of the pickguard. The bridge has some wear to the top but the original little black plastic tailpiece cover is undamaged. The also somewhat fragile tuners and the often cracked plastic sheath covering the neck are all similarly intact.
The original frets and fingerboard have some light wear and are still quite playable. This fun and rare 2-pickup Soloist is very light and easy to handle; it plays and sounds extremely well. Although not an exact match to any of his this is the "Buddy Miller approved" Wandre model, with the same sound and feel. It is a hot-pink delight for connoisseurs despite otherwise being a tamer entry into the fretted world of Wandre. It comes with newer Les Paul style hardshell case, adapted by a small piece of lining having been removed but otherwise solid. Overall Excellent - Condition.
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In the wake of some wildly eccentric designs like the extreme cutaway Rock Oval by 1963-4 Italian guitar artist Wandre Pioli was convinced to put a few more broadly marketable instruments into production, largely at the suggestion of his distributors. This Soloist model was mostly designed to please American distributor Don Noble and is one of the better known of these, largely due to decades of use by Nashville Ace Buddy Miller. Like Miller's famous Noble-Wandres, this Soloist is equipped with the trapezoidal chrome Davoli pickups most associated with the brand; some variants featured smaller-coil more Fender-like units Wandre introduced towards the mid-1960's.
This more overtly "conventional" Wandre model was produced mostly around 1964. This example features a stunning hot pink top on the fully hollow plastic-over-wood body and easily stands out in a crowd! The "Les Paul-esque" shape body resembles a number of smaller semi-acoustics like the 1950s Premier Bantams or Guild Aristocrat. The body itself is thin laminate wood sheathed in black on the back with the almost salmon-y hot pink covering on the single-bound top, making for an almost John Waters-worthy spin on the Gretsch Jet Fire Bird look. While many Soloists sold in the US market carry a "Noble" plastic emblem glued to the front of the headstock this one has no branding at all save the Davoli-branded pickup covers and the small Wandre logo etched into the metal nut assembly.
The twin chrome Davoli pickups are mounted solidly in a molded black plastic pickguard assembly floating above the body. The controls are housed in a separate modular molded black plastic sub-assembly sunk into the lower body and consist of a master tone and volume knobs with three white push buttons to engage the pickups singly or together. The output jack is a regular 1/4" phone plug style for the non-Italian market, housed in a molded box at the back of the electronics assembly with the knobs mounted above.
Most of the other parts are standard Wandre fittings for guitars well into the company's tenure. The open slotted metal-framed wood headstock is bolted to the neck with staggered side-mounted pearloid button tuners under small sheathed coverplates. This Soloist has the earlier Hofner-style rosewood bridge slotted for small individual fretwire saddles. It is adjustable from beneath the pickguard for height although this is a fidgety task on this guitar! This is a non- vibrato Wandre with the tailpiece assembly solidly attached to the back end of the central aluminum neck/body section under a black plastic cover.
Besides the unique aesthetics, the most trailblazing aspect of Wandre guitars is the bolt-on aluminum neck. Over a decade before the likes of Travis Bean or Veleno, Pioli's instruments featured a thin, rounded aluminum neck/body centerpiece attached so the angle is adjustable to the body. The rosewood fingerboard has simple large-dot inlays and a zero fret. This example has the fitted black plastic neck sheath which many Wandre players feel contributes greatly to a more traditionally playable feel than the raw aluminum below. Overall this is another rare, wonderful and iconic piece of the Wandre puzzle, if more conventional than many in shape then announcing itself as unique with a stunning burst of color!
Overall length is 44 1/4 in. (112.4 cm.), 16 in. (40.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
This fabulously pink Soloist remains in very nice original condition overall with some faint signs of age and use, mostly scratches and scuffs on the back and sporadically over the entire instrument. It is remarkably well intact down to many of the often lost or broken little plastic pieces Wandres are known for: the neck sheath, the screw cover at the neck joint, the pickguard/pickup and control assemblies. It shows a touch of wear along the edges but nothing severe.
The electronics appear all original including the knobs, switches, and seemingly even the 1/4" jack as this one was originally built for export. The Davoli pickup covers show some pick scratching to the tops, there is some scuffing to the top surface of the pickguard. The bridge has some wear to the top but the original little black plastic tailpiece cover is undamaged. The also somewhat fragile tuners and the often cracked plastic sheath covering the neck are all similarly intact.
The original frets and fingerboard have some light wear and are still quite playable. This fun and rare 2-pickup Soloist is very light and easy to handle; it plays and sounds extremely well. Although not an exact match to any of his this is the "Buddy Miller approved" Wandre model, with the same sound and feel. It is a hot-pink delight for connoisseurs despite otherwise being a tamer entry into the fretted world of Wandre. It comes with newer Les Paul style hardshell case, adapted by a small piece of lining having been removed but otherwise solid. Overall Excellent - Condition.
